


Fragments

by Hibibun



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Gen, Post RBGY, Pre GSC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2020-06-29 05:08:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19823197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hibibun/pseuds/Hibibun
Summary: A collection of ficlets for Green's development between games.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> These are more based on the game timelines (specifically RGBY/GSC because I'm less familiar with some changes of FRLG/HGSS) and not Pokespec as well as my own headcanons. 
> 
> I imagine this taking place about a year and a half after the events of RGBY. I feel like I provided enough of an idea regarding what background events took place, but admittedly parts of it are based on an RP and again some stuff I speculate or headcanon so feel free to ask if you're confused/point out areas I should have provided more explanation haha!

“Still moping? I thought you would have liked Johto,” Professor Oak remarks as he watches Green aimlessly swing his legs perched on an empty desk in the corner of his lab.

“It was fine—better than here anyway,” the teen answers back, listlessly staring out the window. The sights and people were friendlier and traversing the region was easier than Kanto anyway. As for the journey itself, he couldn’t shake the loneliness collecting badges and filling a still incomplete Pokédex without a rival left and it didn’t help matters that the person he was thinking of wasn’t even back when he returned. Not that he’d know what to say to him. He didn’t know how to stop feeling jealous and bitter, but inevitably things felt empty without him.

“Did you think about Lance’s offer? That sounds like the kind of thing you’d find fun. At the very least, it’d get you outside,” his grandfather muses before resuming typing. The trainer had been hoping that would get dropped as he wasn’t really interested to begin with, but of course his gramps would talk like it was a good opportunity for him. Lance said the same thing even if he was just trying to fill a vacancy at a cursed gym, which is why he had said no in the first place. How they hadn’t pieced together who was running it beforehand is beyond Green, but it wasn’t like the Kanto authorities or league were particularly competent. It took a child to deal with all that and even though Green had the sense to know it wasn’t something he should have had to do, he feels annoyed on Red’s behalf.

“What, am I bothering your research?” Green ends up saying, wondering why he thought to the lab would have even been a good idea. Daisy was giving him a similar speech yesterday, but he can tolerate it better from her because he at least vaguely feels like she cares. When it comes to his grandfather, he honestly can’t tell what it is he needs to do to please him.

There isn’t a teasing bite to his words that the elder man is used to hearing and it has him stop typing again. For the first time in a long while, Professor Oak felt like he was actually seeing his grandson, though he hadn’t thought things were this bad.

“Are you still upset about not being champion? Or did something else happen?” His grandfather asks keeping his tone careful, but that only gives Green more of an impression he’s being impassive.

“I could care less about that now,” he starts though it’s partly a lie, “I’m upset that you talk about me like a problem to get rid of. Nothing I do is ever enough for you is it Gramps?”

“You’re not a problem. It just seems like nothing here is making you happy. If it isn’t traveling and working a gym doesn’t sound appealing I don’t know what else to say. I can’t fix your problems for you, but if you could just see what it is you do to yourself—”

“What am I doing wrong then? You all look down on me; I could feel it when you scolded me in front of Red for losing and I see it now,” He blurts out without thinking as it’s all the thoughts that’d quietly been boiling under a tightly clamped lid.

“I don’t look _down_ on you, I just—” His grandfather starts before being cut off because the words as much as he wants to hear them are terrifying to face.

“You just _what_ gramps? Wish I was better than I am? Wish I’d stop moping around and getting in the way of your work?” He asks a bitter laugh leaving his lips before he can really stop it.

“You’re always saying things like that, you know? Making it sound like if I was just a little more… something I wouldn’t be like this. You know I’m not Red, right Gramps? You probably wish I was though, huh.”

“Of course I don’t. You’re you and he’s him. Is that what this is about?” Professor Oak’s voice and expression indicate guilt, but Green isn’t looking at him—he can’t bring himself to try. In reality, it’s a shock to hear his grandson had been dealing with all this under what he assumed was just a sense of teenage rebellion or rather the difficulties of growing up and figuring out what it is you want out of life. To hear he’d been assuming he didn’t care for him or want him around isn’t something he’d considered in the slightest. Nor did he ever really think that the other child he’d ended up taking under his care had anything to do with it. Between his work and inability to really understand the situation, he hadn’t actually been too sure what happened between the two of them to cause such a rift in their friendship.

“Why does it even matter? He’s gone too,” Green finds himself muttering all the self-righteous anger drained right out of him at the thought of his old rival and where he was now. He likely hated him too, but that wasn’t something he wanted to talk about right now. He hadn’t even planned on talking about this in the first place, but as usual the second he opens his mouth it’s hard to keep anything in.

“Look, I’ve always known you never really wanted to take in me or Daisy. Sometimes it felt like maybe you liked having us around and I know she gives you less trouble than I do, but sometimes you just…” He stares out the window again, letting his words drift off.

“Sometimes you look at me just like they did.”

Abruptly, the younger teen feels his eyes sting and he’s frantically wiping tears away with his sleeves. The last thing he intended to do was any of this, but the more it simmered the more he couldn’t help himself.

Out of place, Professor Oak isn’t sure whether he should be reaching to comfort his grandson or giving him space. He hasn’t seen him cry since he was eight and for the past several years it feels like all his attempts to comfort or reach him even slightly had only made things worse. From the sounds of it though, the distance he’d been trying to give the other had only exacerbated this situation into what it was now.

“You know… in their own way they loved both of you too,” he begins, partially feeling the need to defend his child and their spouse as well as himself even though it seems once again to be the wrong thing to say.

“If they loved us, then why were they so eager to get rid of us? Why is it all I can remember about them is picking at me and Daisy like we were just props to whatever overdone party they were attending? Nothing I did was ever good enough for them and it’s just the same with you—it’s okay you can just say it.”

“Green…”

“It’s why he ended up leaving too isn’t it? What is it about me? No matter how hard I try or what I do it’s never enough and I knew he’d just always look down on me too. We can’t all be prodigies and I guess I’m just wondering why he can’t just admit any of it to my face.”

“Y’know I saw him once. When I was in Johto… he almost sounded like he wanted to talk to me, but then he just shut me out again.”

His grandfather is biting his tongue because he knows saying where Red went off to would be breaking the trust placed in him in the first place and he can’t bring himself to intervene. Even seeing Green like this or hearing the worried and forced optimistic way the teen in question’s mother spoke about him, wasn’t enough. Red went to Mt. Silver for a reason even if he didn’t share why and he wasn’t about to force him down until he was ready.

Regardless, it wasn’t benefiting his grandson to further compare him to Red as he’d apparently been doing.

“If I’m honest, I don’t think that boy has it in him to hate anyone. Not even you Green,” the professor answers gently. He tries to continue talking before he’s interrupted again as he can already see the tension leaking out of his grandson.

“What happened between you two? You used to be so close.”

If somehow possible, it feels like Green gets even smaller, hunching into himself as he still remains balanced on the empty lab table. He’d been staring at the wall opposite to avoid his grandfather’s gaze, but now he’s staring at the floor unable to piece the words together.

What _did_ go wrong exactly?

Things felt as they always did when he was with Red—they were just carefree children and while some of Red’s idiosyncrasies didn’t ever end up making sense to him others began to grate on him. There were times that silent stare felt more judging than he’d like to admit and the more times he lost at whatever meaningless game they were playing the more he found himself quietly wondering whether or not it was all just a means to make him look like an idiot. His rival would never say it—he liked to believe that he never really thought that—but he must surely feel it. Each step behind him, each loss only made Green feel like he needed to propel himself forward and away.

If Red was going to just make fun of him and break their friendship, than he’d do it first because then he couldn’t get hurt. As to what made him think that was necessary, he can’t remember the day or the time. One day he just decided if it was going to happen, he’d be the one to make it so.

Now the other was gone and he couldn’t even say whether or not his fears were ever justified in the first place. Now all there was between them was a messy and needless bed of thorns. Green bites his tongue on explaining any of this though because he doesn’t need to hear it from his grandfather to already know what the man would say.

He made his bed and now he has to lie in it. He only has himself to blame.

Sensing his grandson’s hesitance, he takes the initiative deciding that it likely didn’t matter.

“Whatever it was, if you wanted to be friends with him again I’m sure apologizing would be all that’s needed.”

“I… tried to. I was going to anyway, but then he just acted like I shouldn’t have even brought up Pallet or… I don’t know. It was months ago and it doesn’t even matter because I don’t even know where the fuck he is,” Green bites out more angry with himself than the professor for commenting. He’s waiting for a reprimand on the fact he swore too, but is surprised when it never comes. In fact, his resolve to stop crying only crumbles as his grandfather finally comes over and places a hand on his shoulder. 

“He’ll come back. And when he does you can try again.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place post GSC since as will be noted Ethan/Gold is in this one and Kris is mentioned haha. With the timeline I'm writing with Red actually comes down from Mt. Silver a few months after this, but Green is still trying to fight off his paranoid death anxiety and it's not. going good.

A suspicious knock is what distracts Green from the haphazard papers decorating his living room and he has half a mind to ignore it. Despite his attempts to tune it out, the knocking persists though and then after his Pokégear joins in. Based on the name displayed on the caller ID he only has to wonder what Ethan wants this close to midnight.

The second he hits the button to accept the call does he remember just how noisy the other can be and debates about hanging up. With the amount of papers he still has to look through, as well as the likelihood of him not going away it’d be pointless though.

“Are you home?!”

The gym leader pauses for a minute tempted to say no, but given the hour and other obvious clues it’d be stupid to lie.

“Yeah, why?”

“I’ve been knocking for a few minutes and you weren’t answering.”

“I’m busy.”

A thump sounds from the other side of the door and from the receiver, startling him bad enough that he drops the current sheet he was reading, but before he can ask, Green’s greeted to whining.

“So why won’t you let me iiiin?”

“Because I’m _busy_. What do you even want anyway? It’s midnight,” he bites out, bending down to pick up the fallen paper.

“Well, I was checking out Rock Tunnel and got lost. By the time I made it to Lavender Town, I realized it was starting to get late so I was on my way to Saffron but these bikers kept insisting I beat them before I could pass and then by the time I got to the station the last train already left.”

Midway through Ethan’s explanation he’s already zoned out missing half of it in his attempts to get back to work. Honestly, he doesn’t really care or see how it’s at all his problem, so he gives the boy another few minutes before asking, seeing as his story didn’t answer his question at all.

“So… why are you here then?”

“Like I said, I missed the last train.”

“O…kay, but why are you _here_? Why didn’t you just stay at the Center there?”

“They were full and I remembered you called the other day sounding all weird so I thought I’d drop by. Y’know until the trains are running again.”

Since the events of his sister deciding to give not one, but two, children his phone number it’d actually come as a surprise when the gym leader found himself… calling them. Of course, originally it had been for the purpose of a rematch what with strong trainers being the sorts of people he actually somewhat enjoyed interacting with, but that last call he’d almost managed to forget. A stupid comment about a supposed impossible to beat trainer on a mountain had him overthinking things and it was only a matter of time until he was calling up someone to rant about it.

Daisy he wouldn’t even think of mentioning it to just yet because it’s been bad enough each time he goes down to Pallet only to stumble his way into trying to see if anyone’s heard from Red. She teases him about being so concerned nowadays—though she’s just as worried. If anything it’s just embarrassing because he knows it’s so unlike him, but… it’s also been a long time. He tries to ask her more than Red’s mother if only because seeing the look on her face each time she has to say no is hard enough.

So it was inevitable one of the two people who told him about this rumor would be who he talks to about it. Kris had only given him a vague hint that he should go up and see for himself. It was the politest way she could avoid outright telling Green she wanted no part in his drama, but the lack of details didn’t help his situation. Ethan on the other hand had wasted no time in sparing his account and how close he was to beating them. The description matched who he suspected, which only lead him into yet another pathetic spiel about how he was the league champion until he was beaten and how… he hasn’t heard from the person who beat him in years.

“Are you gonna’ let me in yet?”

Struck out of his thoughts and verbally dragged back into the conversation, Green sighs before standing and finally opening the door up for the trainer. Since there was no warning that he was going to pull the door open it takes Ethan a moment to upright himself from falling face first into his doorway though the older trainer makes no effort to help or stick around once the door’s been open.

Before the other can so much as make a proper greeting now that they’re face to face, he’s quick to set ground rules though he’s never actually had anyone else over.

“You’re to stay out of my room and not touch anything without permission. You’re on the couch and once I leave, you leave, got it?”

As cold as it came off, Ethan actually had no issues with any of these things especially since he had dropped by so late. The only problem was the perplexing amount of paper and books covering both the living room table and couch he was supposed to sleep on.

Green seemingly noticing this just now adds, “Once I get this stuff cleared out I can get you blankets. I just gotta’ resort it and then… move it.”

Eager to help—mainly so he could sleep—the younger trainer starts stacking things only feeling his confusion double when he attempts to make sense of what all of it was even about.

“‘Migration and Habitat Patterns of Beedrill in Viridian Forest’, Green, why were you looking at this? It looks super boring.”

He snatches the papers from Ethan’s hand, trying to stuff it back into the pile not caring at this point if the dates of the studies are out of order. It doesn’t stop the other’s nosy personality from prying though. Once it’s clear he’s not going to stop staring at the gym leader until the question is answered, he sighs because it’s late and he’s tired and the whole thing is stupid anyway.

“It’s unusual to see as many Beedrill as we are around the forest and route before it so they asked me to look into it. It’s especially dangerous for younger trainers and apparently that’s part of my responsibility as a gym leader, not that Lance bothered to mention it.”

Satisfied that he got all of what he needed in order, Green leaves it at that trailing off to his bedroom to deposit them before digging out spare blankets. Assuredly his first rule is broken if the steps behind him indicate anything, but the words now coming out of the boy’s mouth completely prevent him from pointing out this fact.

“So did you figure anything out?”

Biting back the complaint he had at not being listened to, he instead succumbs to his own frustrations.

“No; well not really anything helpful anyway. Best theory we have is that since the climate’s been odd due to Cinnabar erupting last year more of them survived the winter than was typically normal and now there are too many,” he explains leaving the stack of papers on his desk as all it really contained was data he looked through already for the prior years. Taking a breath, he then shifts towards the closet digging for spare blankets as he continues.

“That doesn’t really give us a good solution though as containing and moving them would be difficult and it’d be inhumane to just kill off a chunk of them. There’s no telling if the habitat will return to normal on its own and I really don’t know what they expect me to do about it. I’d call Lance and complain if it wasn’t… almost 12:30 in the morning.”

A pile of blankets and a pillow are shoved into the other’s arms punctuating the rant, but it only drives home just how _tired_ Green looks.

“So… why are you up this late looking into it?

He opens his mouth ready to supply a lie of some kind or even just a barbed comment on how it isn’t the boy’s business, but he just closes it and rubs his own eyes.

“Couldn’t sleep again?” Ethan guesses and Green doesn’t really want to answer him let alone talk about it. He’d already said more than he wanted to when he decided it was a good idea to call even earlier in the morning than this a few nights ago.

Too tired to appear more okay than he actually is, the older trainer is seconds from just going to lie down and face the wall until the other gets the message, but before he can do so, an arm tugs at one of his until he’s being led back to the couch and made to sit. The blankets and pillow are tossed on him to act as distraction before he can protest as Ethan begins fiddling with his TV.

“What are you doing?”

“Looking for a movie or something. It’s last minute, but we should make it a proper sleepover y’know?”

“No, I don’t know. Look, I have a ton of work an—”

“Oooh! They’re playing the Mega Sentai movie! I kept trying to get Silver and Kris to come watch this with me when it was in theaters,” he explains shifting to sit back on the couch with Green. There’s little he has to add or say in protest especially if his words aren’t even being heeded. Frankly, with how comfortable the blankets and cushion of the couch are he’s seconds from drifting off.

Feeling more like a babysitter than a friend, he can’t deny having company was kind of nice even if they were never technically invited. It’s peaceful enough that for once the former champion is able to sleep.

His dreams don’t remain peaceful though as a familiar chill takes over. A white mountain surrounded by ice and snow. The rumors of a legendary trainer brought him here, yet, like always he can’t bring himself to climb it. In the shadows of the cave he thinks he sees a flicker of red and yellow, but he can never bring himself to check.

If he doesn’t look, he might lose something. The sense that he’s already lost it is the only thing that stops him from entering too chilled by the cold and his own fears.

Red’s not dead. There’s proof that he’s not, but he could be. The gym leader had seen firsthand how merciless nature can be with its destruction and with how frail he remembered him, an avalanche or something else could easily do it. Yet, the mountain still stands and he can’t bring himself to climb it.

He awakes feeling groggy and with his foot and arm asleep. Distantly he notes the TV is still on, but Ethan is sprawled on part of his leg and his arm is uncomfortable pressed into the side of the couch. It’s too small and he nudges at the other to move groaning as the pin and needles set in.

“Get up. I need to go to bed.”

A series of unintelligible whines come from the boy across from him and he just nudges more.

“Bed. I would like to go to bed.”

Picking out the one emphasized word, Ethan completely misunderstands, but does at least get up to head towards Green’s room. If he wasn’t half asleep and still reeling from the repeated nightmare he’s been having, he’d argue more. As things are, more sleep is all he cares about especially if he is actually opening the gym tomorrow.

Sometime between him passing out on the couch the first time or maybe even just moments ago the younger trainer’s hat is no longer on and Green’s sleep addled brain is trying to ignore the similarities it wants to draw to the person haunting his dreams.

“You look just like him sometimes.”

It’s not something Ethan will remember nor Green, but it’s something he’s mentioned before and something he can’t seem to stop thinking. That was one of the reasons for the other’s visit and he hates the way his brain looks for and finds Red in the most irritating of places. They’re only a few similarities, too many differences and yet…

He falls asleep and wishes he never let the thought into his mind. It only brings worse nightmares and he doesn’t feel any rested than before he went to bed. Maybe he won’t open the gym up again after all. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is quite a jump in time from the last one. Red has come down from the mountain and when he sets out to explore Hoenn, Green forces his way along in an attempt to repair their damaged relationship. This bit I imagine to be several weeks or so after they return home from that trip, but it feels funny because my partner and I haven't even finished RPing their time in Hoenn.. I wrote this to fill a prompt I received from him, haha.

It was stubborn pride that kept Green from following Red back to Pallet for the weekend. In fact, he’d gone so far as to convince himself that it would be nice to have some privacy and time to himself for once.

He’d have thought after forcing himself along Red’s trip to Hoenn that his old neighbor would have been sick of him and eager to get away first thing. Admittedly, he did take another trip pretty quickly after, but that was just to catch up with people around Kanto. Still, after all that though, his rival had taken to dropping in and staying over as long as he felt like, only to disappear some mornings and not return for a week. The company wasn’t horrible, and helped a little in restoring whatever disjointed relationship they had before all this started, but even with that in mind, something about the other’s presence had a way to make his brain stop working.

The moment Green felt like he’s past the issues they had as kids, things like this pop up and make him wonder irrationally if Red is going to leave and never come back.

For the first day or so, it was easy enough to pay no mind to any of it. There were enough chores he’d put off that it wasn’t hard to keep busy. However, come the time he went to lay down, the silence in the house was more noticeable than the day. Usually if he can’t sleep, Red’s at least in the living room playing something or if he turned the TV on they’d watch something stupid until sleeping became feasible. After traveling together for almost a year, Green had sort of forgotten how lonely things had been before.

Depending on Red for that though was embarrassing, especially when now that he couldn’t stop the thoughts piling in again, it was obvious this feeling was just on his end. The only other reason and defense he’d given for not following along again was a series of complaints about his grandfather that were half true seeing as he couldn’t visit the old man without being given a chore or a critique.

Going on four in the morning, Green decided that he was not opening the gym that day, and gave into old habits by cycling to the nearest national geographic television special, which apparently had something to do with Horsea.

Saturday follows the same as Friday except, since he gave up going to work and didn’t have any more chores, it actually goes even worse than the day before. Sleep caught up when exhaustion did, but Green ended up only managing a few more hours sleep before another nightmare interrupted things. While it was absent of the usual snowy mountain that haunted him, the same fear awaited him in the news that there was an accident and Red was…

It didn’t make sense as he’d only seen him just the other day. He’d been at home so nothing could have gone wrong, but _what if?_

What if what?

Red hadn’t necessarily said he’d be back Monday, and that was the only thing making Green move to confirm for sure the other was still breathing. If something happened, he’d know now. If nothing had happened, he still wouldn’t be able to see him again for who knows how long because now more than ever it feels like he could blink and Red would be gone.

The route between Viridian and Pallet was short, but felt too long. He ignored the shouts of trainers either looking for him since he would have been opening the gym an hour ago or just wanting a battle. Soon enough the sign welcoming him to Pallet town was in view.

Pallet’s signature azaleas were in full bloom, and hit Green even harder as he jogged the last few feet to Red’s house. The pink of petals bleeds into red as he spotted the familiar jacket and hat between the gaps in the fence. He dashed around the corner to the opening of the fence, panicked eyes settling on the figure that of course would be there. Red’s face was smudged with dirt, and the basket next to him holding tomatoes from his mother’s garden indicated that he’d been out here for a bit now. Pikachu blinked up at him, and as usual there’s a brief feeling the electric rodent was making fun of him.  
  
The former champion looked just as bewildered given how much of a fuss Green made just a couple days prior about not visiting. He was always complaining about Professor Oak then turning around to stress about how the elder man was doing. It didn’t make much sense though if that were the case as he was currently here and not at the laboratory.

Like all the other times this happened, Green can only bring a hand up to his head and laugh. If he explained properly, it would be mortifying and something already told him it was a stupid gut reaction to have because of a nightmare, but here he was standing in his rival’s mother’s garden anyway.

“Nothing, nothing, I’m…” Green started knowing the question for him suddenly appearing was hanging in the air. He didn’t know how to finish what he’d planned on saying, and whatever he’d had in mind is lost at seeing Red’s small smile which shifted the moment Green’s panic dissipated.

Everything was fine, and that was all he needed. 


End file.
